


Blame it on the eggnog

by aeryn_sun



Series: The tropiest of fanfic tropes - the Cardinal & Delorme Edition [1]
Category: Cardinal (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, SO MUCH FLUFF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:47:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26272087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aeryn_sun/pseuds/aeryn_sun
Summary: Haha, OK, I‘m sorry 😂 This ... kinda just happened 🙈 I should maybe stay out of the fanfic prompts 😂😂😂But work has been exhausting and I’m just in the mood for super silly. This series is called ‚The tropiest of fanfic tropes - the Cardinal & Delorme Edition‘. Set somewhere between Season 3 and Season 4 (because I live for unresolved sexual tension like that)
Relationships: John Cardinal & Lise Delorme, John Cardinal/Lise Delorme
Series: The tropiest of fanfic tropes - the Cardinal & Delorme Edition [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1908787
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5





	Blame it on the eggnog

It was the first Christmas after Catherine‘s death and Cardinal was not in the Christmas spirit. Neither was Delorme, it just wasn‘t her thing. But when Dyson needed two volunteers for the Annual Children‘s Christmas party ... well, they were the only ones not out with the flu, sick kids or in court.

So there they were, an hour before the big party, shuffling around the still empty room. The Christmas tree was decorated beautifully and off to the side was a beautiful, antique Chaise Longue covered in soft red velvet and the volunteers had already started piling up the presents for the kids.

‚Guess I better get suited up.‘ John grumbled.

Delorme didn‘t even reply and just rolled her eyes at him.

Only a little while later, John emerged - in his full Santa costume. Stuffed with pillows underneath his red suit, a white beard pulled over his actual beard and a red velvet hat on top of his head. His eyes shone merrily and the grumbling was mostly for show. 

‚Ho ho ho!‘ he hollered and gave his bell a shake. ‚You ready, Delorme?‘

‚I don‘t think I fit in this thing!‘ she yelped from behind the door. ‚Isn‘t there a bigger one?‘

‚There were only three sizes and you‘ve got the biggest one!‘ he informed her.

‚I think this is a kids costume.‘ She muttered sheepishly.

John gulped at the sight of her and his eyes dropped to those endless legs in white and red stockings with the tiniest imaginable red green dress just barely covering her ass and the green bodice doing absolutely nothing to hide her breasts. ‚Looks just fine to me.‘ he smirked.

She took a smack to him with her Santa hat, but blushed furiously behind his back. It wasn‘t like it was _slutty_ per se (this was a kids‘ event, after all), but the elf costume was definitely hugging her in all the right places and the dark green and red were definitely her color.

And as uncomfortable they initially felt, they adjusted to their role at the charity event quickly. Besides, they could be stuck here with Kular or McLeod ... at least they were with their partner who would remain discrete and wouldn‘t post pictures on the station‘s notice board the next day.

So John settled on the Chaise Longue, was chatting with kids of varying ages who sat down next to him or on his lap, had their picture taken and Delorme would hand over their Christmas gift and tell the next in line when they could go up and ushered the little ones along.

And every once in a while, she would steal a glance at John, who was entirely lost in his ‚mission‘ and having small earnest conversations and a familiar, fuzzy twinge made itself known in her belly. She hadn’t seen him this content in some time and his eyes shone more than they had for a long time and it made her happy. This was kinda fun after all.

And unbeknownst to her, John would steal a glance at her and smiled at her carefree expression and the way her eyes lit up every time one of the kids gleefully tore open a gift and squealed happily at the toy inside. This wasn‘t so bad after all. 

And the adults were mingling and the donors writing checks as they were sipping eggnog and munching on Christmas cookies and Delorme grabbed a plate and a mug for Cardinal and set them down on the small wooden table next to him im between ushering kids.

It was over sooner than either realized as it started getting late-ish, at least for kids with strict bedtimes and the party was wrapping up. Delorme crashed on the couch next to him at the first opportunity.

‚Damn, these heels are killing me!‘ She sighed dramatically in a heavy French accent.

He handed over the plate of cookies as she was pulling off her heels and rubbing her feet. ‚At least I got to sit!‘ he teased. ‚Want me to grab some leftover eggnog for you?‘ he offered sympathetically.

She cocked her head at him and gave him a full smile ‚Yeah.‘ 

And John returned with two full mugs and reclaimed his seat. They clinked their mugs together.

‚To successfully solving this case.‘ John said, the hint of a smile gracing his lips.

‚To partners having each other‘s backs.‘ Lise replied, solemnly.

‚To partners.‘ John confirmed. 

And Lise - well, Lise was a lightweight and she hadn‘t actually eaten anything. And her cheeks flushed red as she started feeling a little tipsy and felt his warm and soft presence so close to her and couldn‘t help leaning into his warmth.

‚I‘m really exhausted.‘

‚I think you got me drunk Delorme.‘

‚Guess we‘re going to have wait a while till we‘re OK to drive. Can‘t get ourselves arrested looking like this.‘

‚We could just walk. Can‘t be more than half an hour to yours. Pick up the car tomorrow.‘

‚I‘m gonna need a minute. And a cookie.‘

‚OK.‘ he smiled, broadly and went to find her some food.

When he returned with leftover appetizers and a plate full of cookies, she greeted him with a tired, but genuinely satisfied smile. ‚Best partner ever.‘ she said between mouthfuls, sighing happily when her belly was stuffed.

‚You uhm ... got some glitter on you.‘ John muttered sheepishly. ‚Here, let me ...‘ and he proceeded to try and brush the glitter that was on her far shoulder, fingers brushing lightly against her neck and an errant strand of wavy hair. 

‚Thanks.‘ she sighed, leaning into him and his outstretched arm and he let it drop to her side as she leaned against him, properly. ‚This was really nice.‘

‚Mmhm.‘ he agreed as they sat like that for what felt like an eternity. John felt the warmth spread from where she rested lightly against him to the twinge in his belly, his head resting lightly on hers and he could smell the faint traces of her shampoo and tried not to think about her naked, crossed feet and the dashes of red nailpolish.

Lise was trying to focus through her tipsy, sleepy haze, but couldn‘t help relaxing into the rise and fall of his steady breath where her head was tucked perfectly into the crook of his shoulder and felt his warm arm cross behind her back, his large hand splayed loosely over her hip.

‚Shall we?‘ he asked after a long while of sitting with their eyes closed.

‚Yeah.‘ she said, slipping her heels over her feet. ‚We shall.‘

‘You wanna get changed or ...?‘

‘Naw. I‘ll just return it tomorrow.‘

‘Yeah. Me too.‘

And they rose, John helping her up. He went to grab their coats and clothes. He helped her into her warm coat and offering his arm. And so the partners walked to Lise‘s, Santa and his red haired helper. Lise grateful for the support he‘d offered (blaming the eggnog and not her legs that felt a little like jelly) for the short walk.

‚Goodnight, Lise.‘ he whispered, hugging her for a moment, his gloved fingers ghosting over her back and hips.

‚Goodnight, John.‘ she replied, her body stretching a little, so she could touch her cheek just barely against his stubble, pressing a ghost of a kiss to his cheek, lips barely grazing his beard. ‚Thank you.‘

‚Thank _you_.‘ he whispered as he watched her disappear through her door, as he felt a little spark ignite in his soul, making him suddenly feel alive again. 

‚Maybe Christmas isn‘t so bad after all.‘ he mused as he walked the short distance to his new apartment.


End file.
